Getting To Taman Negara Is Half The Fun – Part 2

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Tara

Continuing from yesterday’s post, let’s have a look at the 2nd part of the journey to Taman Negara.

PART 2 – BOAT TO KUALA TAHAN

After lunch, around 2pm-ish, they will call everyone down to the boat. Depending on how many people there are, there may be more than one boat. The boats do NOT have toilets so go before boarding.

The boats are shallow and I found it very uncomfortable to sit in so it was lucky that at least they weren’t full so we had room to shift around.

The scenery is beautiful and sometimes you can see birds flying by.

There was a terrible flood earlier in the year that actually saw some of the park closed down. As we travelled down the river, there was evidence of the destruction everywhere – erosion and even houses falling down the cliffs. What a horrible thing for the owners of those houses!

We made good time and after just over 2 hours, the Mutiara Taman Negara where we would be staying came into view.

Our boat dropped us off at one of the floating restaurants opposite and we took a shuttle across to the Mutiara for 1 ringgit each.

Getting To Taman Negara Is Half The Fun – Part 1

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Tara

Most people approach the birder’s paradise of Taman Negara from either Kuala Lumpur or the Cameron Highlands by one of the shuttle services. The Cameron Highlands – Taman Negara shuttle is run through Cameron Secrets and will pick you up at your accommodation early in the morning. Either way, you will have a two-part journey – the road trip to Kuala Tembelling and a boat ride to Kuala Tahan just opposite the park entrance.

PART 1 – MINIBUS TO KUALA TEMBELLING

Heading out of Tanah Rata, there is some beautiful mountain scenery to enjoy.

Sadly there is also a lot of habitat destruction. I’m not sure what they are building here but it sure is ugly!

Once out of the mountains, there are some small villages and markets. The driver will make a comfort stop enroute where you can use the facilities and buy snacks.

Lizards have the right of way!

Just in case anyone is planning to rent a car, here are the signs to look out for.

After ~ 3 hours or so, you will arrive at Kuala Tembelling. This river port is where the boats take you to Kuala Tahan through the Taman Negara National Park.

This was our minibus.

Upon arrival you need to check in with the boat counter and pay for your admission tickets to Taman Negara which is across the street.

The Taman Negara ticket office also has tourist information and some nice photos of birds.

Bring your entry ticket back to the restaurant building and get your boat ticket (which is included in the shuttle fee), then relax, have lunch and look around the area. If you don’t have accommodation already booked (we were pre-booked at Mutiara Taman Negara), then they can book something for you.

The food is cheap. Just a warning, there are no toilets on the 2.5 hour boat ride so consider your drinking accordingly!

Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna)

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Tara

The Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. These photos were taken in Tan’s Camellia Garden, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

They have a very large range throughout South-east Asia so you have a good chance to spot one. The blue dot marks the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia where I saw the bird above.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

VIDEO

Very nice close-up of a bird eating although I can’t tell if he’s eating spiders.

Afternoon Birding – Tan’s Camellia Garden, Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Tara

After settling in to Gerard’s Place, I asked Jay the owner who is also a keen birder to recommend a place for me to spend an afternoon birding. She recommended Tan’s Camellia Garden which is off the main road just near the road leading up to Gerard’s Place. Entrance is free and it’s a nice, quiet place to enjoy the beautiful flowers and look for some typical highland bird species.

The first bird we saw upon entering was a Streaked Spiderhunter. I took this as a good omen – gotta love any bird who helps rid the world of spiders! I’m fond of Serpent Eagles for the same reason! Go birds!

Jay left to go about her errands and I wandered around. There were some stunning flowers and butterflies so I tried some macro photography, not that I am any good at it!

I think this is a female Black-throated Sunbird.

Random birds as I walked through the garden.

If you are walking from town, look for these two strange “Christmas trees”, the entrance to Tan’s is next door.

Lodge Review: Gerard’s Place, Tanah Rata – Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Tara

I must have some kind of radar. For our one night in Tanah Rata, after going through all the choices on Hotels.com (I was working towards a free night) and reading some reviews on Trip Advisor, I chose Gerard’s Place based on the value it represented and the views in the photos that looked “birdy”. I had yet to learn that the warm, friendly and cheerful owner – Jay was also a birder!

As you enter, there is a map of the surrounding area with places to go hiking marked out.

The gardens surrounding the property are very birdy as I suspected.

Here’s a Verditer Flycatcher on the roof of a neighbor’s apartment.

The entrance to Gerard’s Place actually says “Carnation” on the front with a smaller Gerard’s Place sign below. This is why I suggest going to Father’s Guesthouse when you first arrive and letting Jay pick you up as it could be confusing when you don’t know your way around town. It’s on top of a hill and a 10 ringgit taxi ride if you are down town for dinner and need a ride back.

The guesthouse has several rooms, some with private bath and some with shared bath. We had a shared bathroom (G1) since it was only 1 night, otherwise I’d go for the ensuite.

The common room opens onto a patio with a nice view of the garden so you can sit here and watch birds. There is free wifi only accessible in the common room. We left very early on the Taman Negara shuttle, but Jay left some toast, butter, jam and coffee for our breakfast.

Beautiful flowers in the garden.

I highly recommend Gerard’s Place especially for birders. Jay will happily point out the best spots and even drop you there if she is heading into town. She is in the local bird club and has a nice book about the local birds you can buy to help you identify what you saw and keep as a souvenir. If you are headed to Taman Negara, ask Jay to book you on the shuttle, it will pick you up at the front door early in the morning.

Tanah Rata Village

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Tara

The town of Tanah Rata is so small you can easily walk anywhere you need to get to. We left the bus station and were pretty hungry so first order was to find food. It was around 2:30 so at that awkward time between normal lunch and dinner. The town is very attractive and has lots of tour operators.

These food stalls seem to be always open.

The hotel across the street also has a restaurant and a very pretty garden but the restaurant was closed.

So back to the stalls. I don’t remember what we ate but it was definitely cheap and cheerful!

Next step was to get to Father’s Guest House. We had actually booked at their sister property, Gerard’s Guest House but Gerard’s is more difficult to find the first time so the best idea is to go to Father’s and have them call Jay, the owner of Gerard’s to come and pick you up.

After birding in Tan’s Camellia Garden (separate post), I walked through the town again.

The most popular dish is “Steamboat” but I don’t eat seafood so I can’t really report on it.

Instead, I settled for afternoon tea (at 5:30pm) with scones, cream and jam – yummy! The cafe had free wifi so I caught up on emails. I got some takeaway chicken to bring back to Gerard’s as my husband didn’t come with me and preferred to relax a bit.

Bus From Taiping To Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Tara

After a successful birding trip to Taiping Lake Gardens, I was looking forward to our next main birding stop in Taman Negara but first we would spend a night in Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. This hill resort has completely different birds to the rainforests.

I had Sentosa Villa call the taxi driver from yesterday and he showed up in 10 minutes.

I sat in the front seat knowing that as we came down the hill we would pass the trees where we had seen the Long-tailed Parakeets the day before. I was not disappointed. One parakeet was sitting in the tree eating. The driver stopped while I jumped out and grabbed some photos. A 2nd bird flew by and this bird flew off with the other one. A nice but brief sighting!

We continued on to the bus station and bought tickets for the first leg of the trip to Ipoh. We didn’t have long to wait as a bus was already parked there and boarding. Fares were pretty cheap, less than $5 and this was a simple bus, not the deluxe bus we were in before.

Here’s a few shots out the window between Taiping and Ipoh. The bus only had a few passengers.

In Ipoh, we changed to a different bus for the longer trip to Tanah Rata, the main town in the Cameron Highlands.

Was this Kingfisher lost?

Now entering the Cameron Highlands.

Tanah Rata bus station – end of the road.

Braving The Rain To Bird Sentosa Villa Grounds

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Tara

We knew we were on the cusp of the rainy season although we had been pretty lucky so far. This time the luck ran out. After a successful birding excursion to Taiping Lake Gardens and an afternoon siesta praying the rain would let up it finally did for a bit. I grabbed my camera and a plastic bag to keep it dry and braved the grounds despite the still threatening clouds overhead. The grounds of Sentosa Villa are quite extensive and potentially very birdy. I had to stick near the shelters to stay as dry as possible as bursts of rain drove me undercover. Below are the only shots I was able to get, ironically the best one is the dancing chicken! The Racquet-tailed Drongo showed very nicely as well. There were some monkeys running around to keep me amused while I waited under the shelters for the rain to let up so I could dash on to the next one. I finally gave up after an hour and went back to the room.

Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda)

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Tara

The Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda) is an elegant Psittacula found in South-east Asia. My views of them in Taiping Lake Gardens were from a distance so I have to use a close-up from Wikipedia.

And here’s some of my shots of the parakeets in flight. I think the ones with the shorter tails are juveniles.

They have a large range throughout the regions of Andaman islands, Nicobar islands, Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia (including Singapore). The easiest places to find them are Taiping Lake Gardens (blue dot) and occasionally Taman Negara in Malaysia and Singapore.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LONG-TAILED PARAKEETS

VIDEOS

Parakeets courting.

Eating out in Singapore.

A Morning Birding Trip To Taiping Lake Gardens

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Tara

After my online research had determined Taiping Lake Gardens to be the best bet for Long-tailed Parakeet in Peninsular Malaysia I was eager to get down there early and start looking for them. It was about a 20 minute walk down hill from Sentosa Villa and of course we had eyes and ears open!

The poor lighting completely fades out the brilliant yellow of this Black-naped Oriole.

First glimpse of what I suspect to be a parakeet.

After seeing some random LBJ’s that didn’t stick around, the cause quickly became apparent with this Brahmiiny Kite keeping a watchful eye.

We kept walking and finally reached the lake in Taiping Lake Gardens.

I don’t know why this guy doesn’t have a long tail – maybe a juvenile but he is definitely a Long-tailed Parakeet. Unfortunately he was on the wrong side of the sun so the colours got washed out. As you scroll down, there are some photos of about 12 parakeets, some of which do have long tails. There are also some random bird shots in as I was pointing at anything that flew by!

The parakeets eventually took off so we continued a slow stroll through the garden and found this White-throated Kingfisher looking for a fishy breakfast. He did a good job of finding some!

The scenery in the park is gorgeous! We found a group of locals who were exercising.

Asian Glossy Starling

Some Cattle Egrets and another Kingfisher on the other side of the park. By this time, we were headed out to find some conveniences and someplace to eat breakfast.

Maccas – always a cheap breakfast and free wifi!

Not sure what these guys are but they were everywhere!

I looked all through the bird book for this very cool looking bird. I wish I had a better photo but one minute he was there, the next he was gone. If anyone can identify please comment below!

We ended the morning with a walk around town, a trip to the mall to get some drinks and snacks to bring back to the hotel, then a taxi back and just barely beat the rain!

Since taxis don’t cruise the streets of Taiping, you have to go to the main market to find one. I suggest getting the driver’s phone# so if you need a taxi from the hotel to the bus station, you can call him. 10-15 ringgits will get you to most places in town.

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